Does the name of this delicious looking mutton curry make you curious? If yes then, you are in for a wonderful recipe and a lovely story associated with it. The railway mutton curry is an incidental recipe that was born in a train during the British raj in India. The story is that, one night on a train journey, a very drunk British officer was hungry and went to the pantry looking for food. But, it was already after hours and the pantry workers, done with their work, were just about to have their dinner when this gentleman came in. Now, they could only offer what they were eating, which was a spicy Bengali style mutton curry and rice. Since most pantry workers, those days, belonged to the Bengal region (including present Bangladesh), this was their staple meal.
So, what they did was they toned down the spice levels in their mutton curry and served it to the officer with rice. And apparently, he loved it so much that he demanded the same every time he traveled on the train. Thereafter, this curry was served in first class compartments and became popular as the railway mutton curry. However, now it isn’t on their menu. At least I didn’t see it on my first class train travel in India, just five months back. Nonetheless, this is a very delicious curry and so I am sharing it’s recipe, here. This mutton recipe is made with lots of whole and some powdered spices. In fact, if you notice closely, this is actually a variation of the Bengali mutton curry itself. And the variation is the addition of coconut milk in this recipe.
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Railway mutton curry
It is coconut milk that the pantry workers had added to their mutton curry, to dial the heat levels down. The fat and the sweetness of coconut makes the curry delicately flavoured and yummy. Besides this, even yoghurt in the curry makes it creamy and helps minimize the heat, too. I normally marinate the meat with it rather than adding it when it is cooking. This also helps in tenderising the meat. And as far as the marination is concerned, I keep it in the fridge overnight. When that’s not possible, even two hours works fine. Apart from the coconut milk and yoghurt, I also love using a bunch of whole spices to flavour my curry – right from curry leaves, fennel seeds to black peppercorns. They impart a beautiful fragrance, making it even more appealing.
Now, this is my take on this delicious, incidental mutton curry. It may not be authentic, but it sure is yum. Another thing to note here is that, by mutton I am referring to goat meat here. In India, tender goat meat is called mutton and this is what is widely consumed in the sub-continent. Even more than lamb is, actually. However, you could also use lamb for this recipe. I have tried that and it tastes fabulous, as well. While I haven’t tried the same with chicken, I think even that would taste nice. If you do, then do let me, too. 🙂
Serving suggestions
The best and only way to relish this delicious railway mutton curry is with plain, steamed rice. At least that’s what my Bengali self enjoys. If you’d like some extra spice, you could serve some fresh chilis and even lime wedges on the side. Make this easy curry recipe when you want to have some yummy food without putting in a lot of effort. This is an extremely easy recipe and quick to make as well, if you are pressure cooking it. That is what I generally do, even for the first half of the cooking part, too. And then when the meat is well seared and coated with spices I cover and pressure cook it. This saves me time and also means lesser vessels to wash!
You can make this curry on a weekend and even for friends and family for a dinner party. This is particularly a great option when you aren’t sure how much heat your guests like in their food. And if you do make it I’d love to hear from you. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram and/or write to me in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.
Also see, bhindi gosht (Indian lamb & okra stew)
Eat hearty!
Railway mutton curry
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 600 g mutton (goat meat) curry cut
- 400 ml thin coconut milk
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
- 1 large potato quartered
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 medium tomato sliced
- 2-3 fresh chilis sliced
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2-3 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 3 dried red chilis broken
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2-3 cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 5 tbsp mustard oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the mutton with 2 tbsp mustard oil, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, a pinch of salt and the yoghurt. Keep it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to up to overnight
- Heat the remaining oil in the cooker, until it smokes, lower the flame and add the potatoes. Once they are fried and browned around the edges, remove and set them aside
- Now add the whole spices in and saute´until fragrant, add the curry leaves and onions and fry until they turn light brown
- Then add the marinated mutton and sear on high heat, until the meat is no longer pink
- Then add the chili powder, coriander, cumin powders, tomatoes, chilis and salt. Cook this over medium high heat with 3-4 tbsp water, until the tomatoes soften
- Once that happens, add the previously fried potatoes and mix well
- Add enough water to just about cover the mutton and the potatoes, pressure cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked (mine took 15 minutes), then switch the flame off
- Once the pressure in the cooker settles, open the lid, add the coconut milk and the coriander leaves. Let this curry simmer on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, add the garam masala and remove from flame. Check for salt and adjust if needed
- Keep this covered for 10 minutes before serving. When ready, serve your delicious railway mutton curry with rice and lime wedges on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can also make this curry with lamb and/or chicken too
- g - grams
- ml - millilitres
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
